Per Theater Chart: Strength and Independence

December 6th, 2011

We are right in the prime of Awards Season and over the weekend there were three films earning very impressive per theater averages and two of those films were recently given Independent Spirit Award Nominations. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row was The Artist with an average of $35,211 in six theaters. It is still barely in theaters, but it is already halfway to $1 million. Being a silent film will likely keep the film from expanding truly wide, but it should grab some measure of mainstream success. Shame debuted in second place with an average of $34,952 in ten theaters. It is rare for an NC-17 film to do this well. Rounding out the $10,000 club was A Dangerous Method placed third with an average of $29,894, while still playing in four theaters.

The best of the rest of the new limited releases was Khodorkovsky, as the documentary pulled in $6,110 over the weekend and $9,634 from Wednesday through Sunday. Sleeping Beauty earned an average of $4,604 in two theaters, which isn't terrible, but given the buzz it should have earned more. Outrage earned an average of $3,259 while playing in two theaters. Pastorela missed the Mendoza Line with an average of $1,494, but it was playing in 55 theaters, which is a mitigating factor. Likewise, Answers to Nothing was also playing in too many theaters, which partially explains its average of just $679. Its reviews also had a major effect.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a couple Per Theater Chart alumni: